GERD & Heartburn Support Group

WishI knew something about it but never hrard of it.did you try looking it up on the web??let me know what you find outplease.Im having terrible stomach pain so i orobably wont today.God Bless,val

My chiropractor suggested Betaine but I have not tried it yet. I also saw a small article in a Men's magazine that suggeted you take it when you take your vitamins to help you from belching the vitamins up. I bought them but have not tried it yet. I am always afraid it will make my GERD worse.

I have tried it. My naturopath uses it. You may also find it as an ingredient with some supplements. It is a manufactured acid product. Some folks think that acid reflux is the result of "leaky gut," which results from a "back-up" in the digestive system. The theory is that acidifying the stomach improves digestion. When I tried the betaine, it was too much for my stomach. I have stopped my PPI and I have enough stomach acid. Now, if you are on a PPI, you might get some relief from the betaine or even apple cider vinegar. Some people swear by it. You can tell real quick if it's going to bother you.

Yes, I have tried Betaine HCl. I have Addison's disease (lack of cortisol hormones, etc.), and soon after the onset of Addison's disease I started having trouble with my digestive tract with bloating and acidy gasseousness. I went online and got more info, and started on I-Flora, which puts "good live bacteria" back in your lower intestine and colon to help with digestion and elmination. I also started taking DGL (deglycyrrhizinated licorice) which supports a healthy stomach lining, and that helped soothe the stomach.

RE: The Betaine HCl: I was listening on education channel to an MD talking on nutrition and digestion, and she said if she would have known about "Betaine" she could have kept her mother from years of indigestion misery. Betaine is hydrochloric acid, (like stomach acid) that occurs naturally in the stomach to digest your food. If your body is not producing the right amount of stomach acid you may not be digesting your food properly, for whatever reason (mine is from hormonal imbalance), and the food just sits in your stomach and intestines and rots and ferments, and can cause all kinds of problems in the upper and lower digestive tract. So, I thought I would try taking Betaine after eating, and see if that would help. It helped immediately. But always remember NEVER TAKE BETAINE ON AN EMPTY STOMACH. Take it immediately AFTER meals. I Hope it works as well for you as it did for me, However, I would check with my physician before trying any of these suggestions, as there may be special circumstances with your own body and health status that might contraindicate taking these supplements. But they are NATURAL supplements, not prescribed medicines. Even so - I would check with my physician prior to trying them just to err on the side of caution, as they may interfere with any medication you are taking. I sure hope that this information helps you.

:) meadowinthewoods